Here is what is happening in South eastern Michigan real estate this fall of 2018.  It's been another great year in real estate even though the number of home sales is down.   Home prices are still rising as of this fall.  But that may be changing as we speak.  There is a slow down in the SE Michigan real estate market.  What does that mean for a home seller?  You may have to be more realistic and really take into account what homes have sold for in your area.  I got off the phone this morning with a seller.  She told me that she recieved an offer $22,000 below her list price.  This offer was still higher than what any other home sold for in the area.  Yet she still wanted to counter.  She also knew that her home probably would not appraise, yet she still wanted to counter.  It was her first offer after a few months. Many home sellers put their homes up for high prices and hoped for the best.  Sometimes they got offers, sometimes they were brought back down to earth when the bank came back with a lower price.  Some of these home deals fell apart because the house did not appraise.

We are seeing a slow down of existing home sales.  It is very quiet in terms of showings and people calling to list their home.in the month of October.  It is normal this time of year for there to be a slow down, but many South eastern Michigan real estate agents are commenting that it is slower than normal.  Bank of America analysts have already predicted that existing home prices have peaked in November.  But are they right?  Or are they going to be laughed at next year for being wrong?

The question is:  IS THIS THE BEGINNING OF THE CORRECTION?  Or is it an abnormal winter slowdown?  Nobody knows yet.  I do not think the amount of homes coming to the market will change.  Nor do I think we will lose a lot of buyers.  If we continue to have a shortage of SE Michigan homes then the demand will stay the same and a real estate market correction will be put off.

What is not going to change is that we will always have first time home buyers, divorcing couples having to sell, relocation sellers, and of course estate homes when people die.  We will still have new homes being built too.  There are many new subdivisions going up all over metro Detroit.  Many   I beleive we have already seen a slow down of people downsizing or moving up.  Home owners seem to be staying in their homes longer.  It used to be that home owners stayed in their homes an average of 7 years.  I am betting the average is probably close to 20 years now.  So fewer people moving, and fewer homes coming to market is now the norm.  That is not going to change any time soon.    

Numbers usually don't lie and the numbers are saying that about 10% fewer homes sold this year.  I believe it is simply because owners are staying in their home longer.  Will that continue to be a trend?  Nobody knows yet.  Yes, we are slower than normal right now but is it simple because of the higher interest rates, or a weakening consumer confidence?  Is it smarter to put your home up for sale now, or smarter to wait until spring.  None of us can predict accurately what is the right thing to do.  Only spring will tell how our market is going.

Good homes are still selling briskly in the under $400,000 price range.  If the home is dated, needs work, or has other issues the home is taking longer to sell.  Over $550,000 to over a million I believe it is more of a buyers market.  To clarify what I mean by good homes is updated, move in ready homes.  The type of homes today's home buyers are looking for.  Nice master bedrooms and granite counter tops are all a plus.

My advice is to keep your home on the market if it is listed.  Negotiate hard and try to reach an agreement if you get a solid offer.  If you are a buyer you definitely do not want to over pay right now.  Now is not the time to pay over market prices.  You could end up upside down if the market corrects.  Pay attention to the comps whether you are buying or selling.  

I hope this SE Michigan real estate update tells you what is happening.   I want to clarify that this real estate market update does not include the city of Detroit.  I do not work in the City of Detroit often enough to give an accurate account of what is happening there.